New York, NY, October 27, 2009 (NASDAQ: SCHL) — The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), our nation's watchdog for effective educational research, has completed its review of the evidence on READ 180®, a reading intervention program from Scholastic. The WWC concludes that the extent of evidence for READ 180 is “medium to large for comprehension and medium to large for general literacy achievement.”

Seven READ 180 studies that involved more than 10,000 students ranging from grades 4 to 9, met the rigorous What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards, leading the WWC to confirm the evidence that the adolescent literacy program has an impact on student comprehen¬sion and general literacy achievement. The appellation “with reservations,” was applied to the findings, as defined on the WWC website. 

"We're pleased that the What Works Clearinghouse, which has incredibly high research standards, has confirmed what educators have known for more than a decade – when implemented with fidelity, READ 180 works," said Margery Mayer, President of Scholastic Education, a division of the global children’s publishing, education and media company.

One of the most thoroughly researched and documented reading intervention programs available today, READ 180 is currently in use in over 13,000 classrooms nationwide. The program is the result of a collaborative effort between Vanderbilt University and the Orange County Public Schools in Florida.  Response from numerous large-scale validation studies is unequivocal in their findings – implementation of READ 180 has resulted in solid gains in student reading scores.

According to What Works Clearinghouse, “READ 180 is a reading program designed for students in elementary through high school whose reading achievement is below the proficient level. The goal of READ 180 is to address gaps in students’ skills through the use of a computer program, literature, and direct instruction in reading skills. The software component of the program aims to track and adapt to each student’s progress. In addition to the computer program, the READ 180 program includes workbooks designed to address reading comprehension skills, paperback books for independent reading, and audiobooks with corresponding CDs for modeled reading."

The What Works Clearinghouse was established in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as a response to the demand for evidence of "what works" in education. The WWC helps educators and policymakers identify credible and reliable evidence to make informed decisions about educational products.

For more information about READ 180 and Scholastic, visit www.scholastic.com.

Contact: 

Sarah Trabucchi
Scholastic
212.343.6424
strabucchi@scholastic.com